Mark Norseth began painting at age 11, working in watercolor along
the coast of Washington state, under the guidance of Charles Mulvey.

After art school and a brief stint as an illustrator in the Pacific
Northwest, Norseth moved to New York City to continue his study
of painting, supporting himself as a freelance illustrator with the
help of painter Craig Srebnik in the mid 1980's. This period
lasted over a decade, and found the artist scouring the museums
and
galleries
of the city, to "learn what I could from the great painters
and paintings I found there."

Further study at the National Academy of Design, New York Academy
of Figurative Art, and the Art Student's League provided a
strong technical base. Norseth also considers himself fortunate
to have received
instruction from James Childs, Curtis Hanson, and Hilary Holmes,
each a former student of R.H. Ives Gammell of Boston.

"
It was in New York that I finally discovered the painters that
truly knocked me out. Two exhibitions in particular, the John
Singer Sargent
exhibition at the Whitney and Joaquin Sorolla at the IBM gallery
pushed me over the top. There have been other influences, but
I've never
done a painting, to this day, that wasn't somehow indebted
to what I saw in those two painters."

Mark Norseth moved with his family to Oahu, Hawaii, and in 1998
to begin painting full time. He is confident and fluent in watercolor,
pastel, and oil, and has won awards in regional and national exhibitions
in all three mediums.

Exhibitions have included the Adirondack Exhibition of American
Watercolors, Academic Artists Association, The Pastel Society of
America, The Hudson Valley Art Association, Hawaii Watercolor Society,
and many others. The artist is represented by galleries on the mainland
and in Hawaii, and his work is valued in collections throughout the
world.